Lexington wants to curb street dumping

Many people driving in and out of town have seen them - piles of trash made up of anything and everything, including the kitchen sink.

Now the City of Lexington is trying to reduce the waste.

Street dumping, the act of dumping large piles of garbage curbside, is having an impact on many parts of the city. The sanitation department has been collecting the trash piles for decades, but as both the city and county place greater importance on reducing waste, street dumpers may be hearing about it.

"It's always been this way," said Tammy Bullin, sanitation superintendent for the city. "It used to be a lot worse."

A presentation from Bullin during a city council meeting last month drew strong reactions from council members. Mayor Pro Tem Larry Beck said the city needed to change its policy or do something to get the dumping under control.

"I think it surprised some of them," Bullin said of the presentation. "(Pictures) bring it home to them."

Only recently has the city tried to start holding city residents and property owners responsible for their trash. The city council approved a $75 per hour pickup fee in 2001, and before that, there was no charge to pick up trash piles at all. The 2006-07 budget includes a proposal to increase the pickup fees to $150 per hour to match the cost of labor, fuel and other operating costs.

Under the current policy, the city picks up two tons worth of trash each month at no extra charge; any amount over that brings additional charges.

For now, the street dumping as well as wood waste is simply adding to the city's workload. Just last month, the city collected 157 tons of garbage and debris. The brief storm April 17 accounted for the majority of it.

"That's about 100 more tons than normal due to that 15-minute storm," Bullin said.

Removing that much trash also hits the city, and in turn the taxpayers, in the pocketbook. The sanitation department can spend $18,000 cleaning up after street dumpers, Bullin said, and recoups very little of that money.

The department uses general fund money and contributes back to it with whatever revenue it collects.

Bullin said the sanitation department expects to pick up after some street dumping. The problem lies with those who are repeatedly "abusing" the city's policy.

Stereotypically, those abusers are somewhere within the rental community. About 90 percent of street dumping comes from rental properties while the other 10 percent comes from homeowners, Bullin said. Lexington is also faced with a homeownership rate below 50 percent, meaning the majority of the city's residents rent.

While the problem may not be the fault of rental property owners and managers, Bullin said it benefits these property owners to build a reputation for upstanding homes and apartments.

"If you've got a bad house you'll get substandard renters, and they don't care," she explained. "It's a vicious cycle."

Sol Coltrane, owner of Coltrane & Company, a realty firm in Lexington, said he knows exactly what Bullin is talking about and tries to avoid having to gut one of his properties. A full renovation beyond standard cosmetic touchups can run $3,000 to $5,000, he said.

Unauthorized and unruly pets in a rental property can wreak havoc on the carpet or walls, or worse yet, the tenant can do the same thing.

And what is the penalty for the former tenant? Usually nothing, aside from losing the security deposit, which is only a small fraction of what a large-scale renovation will cost, Coltrane said.

All you can do is "go to court, if you can find an address - a lot of times you can't - and if you can, all you're getting is a judgment," he added.

The Realtor has rarely had problems with tenants to that degree and was only notified of excessive street dumping once, he said. A new threat for rental property owners is the boom in home-built methamphetamine labs. When property owners find a meth lab, the apartment or home will need several new coats of paint, new carpet and detailed inspection for other health issues.

Seeing trash piles in the city that can grow as large as four or five tons also tarnishes the city's image. Several of the worst areas for street dumping are major "gateways" into Lexington, Bullin said, such as Raleigh Road, West Fifth Avenue and Winston Road, where there is a large concentration of rental properties.

But ultimately, managing the street dumping issue comes down to property owners and residents taking responsibility for their living space. Hopefully, the proposed collection fee increase will help curb the problem, Bullin said.

"I think it will go down," she said. "Rental property management firms will be key to this."

Robert Cooper can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 235 or at robert.cooper@the-dispatch.com.